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Existing clients the key to expansion, says Wolters Kluwer CCH

A leading information services provider has indicated that compliance, the “bread and butter” of the accounting world, is evolving thanks to the onset of predictive analytics within existing client databases.

Speaking to AccountantsDaily, Bas Kniphorst, managing director of Wolters Kluwer CCH, stated that with “bread and butter” tasks increasingly automated, accountants are continuing to examine their existing client base for new avenues and opportunities.

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“Most accountants are saying that they want to expand, and at least a big chunk of how they’re going to expand is through their existing clients,” said Mr Kniphorst.

With the launch of the respective CCH iQ and iFirm products, Mr Kniphorst noted that accountants are now able to take advantage of predictive intelligence software, while acknowledging that the profession is simply too time-pressed to scour the latest tax news and identify clients that may be affected.

“We have figured out a way to combine the information tracking of what the government is doing, and linking into opportunities in the accountant’s client database.”

He said: “Say something very specific has happened; for example, a very recent change in the GST treatment for nursing homes. Very small stuff, but if you’re an accountant and you've got four nursing homes as your clients, well that’s potentially interesting for those four clients.”

Mr Kniphorst added that with the breadth and scale of an accounting firm, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest developments and relate them back efficiently into an existing database.

“If you’re an accounting firm and you’re filing about 1,000 tax returns a year, how detailed is your knowledge across all of those tax returns?”

He continued: “What compliance is doing is changing. If you look at something like this, it’s an ability to focus on your key strengths; understanding the tax law, and understanding the impact on clients and helping them navigate through.”